The NMBA Intro/Novice Ride is entering it's third year!

NMBA will be holding its first 2009 Intro/Novice Rides Thursday May 14th at two locations. The more advanced ride will start at the Tussey/Galbraith Gap parking lot and the less advanced ride will start at a new location off of Pine Hall Rd. Both rides will be rolling by 6pm.

The Intro/Novice rides are meant to be a gathering for beginner/novice riders who want to get out in the woods without the worry about whether they're going to be able to "keep up" or "hold people back".

Throughout the summer we plan to cover things like:

• Nice trails in the area to ride

• Trail etiquette and responsible trail use
  

• How to do simple repairs (fix a flat, fix a chain, etc)

• How to traverse small obstacles

• Anything else MTB-related that people want to learn...
• Lots of Riding !
  

Riders should bring their MTB-style bike and a helmet.

These rides will be held each Thursday night through the summer as long as there is interest. The location may vary, so the forums or the calendar entry (on the front page) should be consulted each week to find out where to meet.

Also, continue to use the list serve ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for questions and comments.

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Stay tuned for more information on the locations, parking, etc.
Please pass the word on this Beginner Ride to anyone you know who might be interested.

The property owner of the portion gasline that we use to exit Tussey Mountain Extension has informed us that she will be closing her property as soon as the gasline expansion is completed.

Please respect her rights and try to discourage others from riding. Signs to this effect will be going up shortly. Out and back on the trail itself is acceptable, but if you turn left to continue down to Treaster-Kettle Rd, you cross onto private land.

We will be working with Forestry to use this opportunity to try and complete the much dreamed about trans-Tussey loop.

NMBA and the Centre Region Bicycle Coalition partnered with Clearwater Conservancy to land a $10,000 grant to help build a bike path connecting Musser Gap and State College. This is part of an overall project to open Musser as a new trailhead to Rothrock, one that will be easily and safely within riding distance of downtown. Details of the grant award are below, but suffice it to say that the club works to bring new riding opportunities in many different ways!

Just got this from DCNR this morning...

Grading and earthmoving activities associated with the Dominion Pipeline’s Cove Point Expansion have gotten underway as of yesterday (16 July ). Please post the following trail closure’s and trail alerts on KTA’s website to alert hikers of the temporary inconvenience of the these activities. Signage is being posted in the field over the next few days.

The following are closed:

1. Long Mountain Trail between Thickhead Road and the pipeline
2. John Wert Path between Thickhead Road and the pipeline
3. McKinney Trail (off of the Crowfield Road)
4. Detweiler Run Road between Thickhead Road and the pipeline
5. Thickhead Mountain Road from Crowfield Road to Bechtol Road.
6. B.R. & S. Trail off of Barrville Road
7. Wertz Trail off of Coopers Gap Road
8. Shingle Path between the Mid-State Trail and Treaster Kettle Road

The following trails will be posted with signs alerting users to the construction activities. Trail crossings over the pipeline will be maintained during the construction activities.

1. Mid State Trail
2. Pigpile Trail
3. Sassafras Trail
4. Tussey Mountain Trail

The closures and alerts will remain in effect until further notice. Tentative timeline for reopening is early fall.

Thank you for your cooperation.